Father of 2-Year-Old Says “F*ck You” to Gender-Stereotyping Toys

The era of “gendered” children’s toys is long-dead (or should be), but once in a while, a few crotchety commenters will climb onto their blue-and-pink soapboxes to condemn any “girl” toy that’s not a Barbie and any “boy” toy that’s not a G.I. Joe.

One father, Reddit user sixstringhook, wasn’t expecting to discuss the subject at all. He just wanted to show off his woodworking skills.

On Wednesday afternoon, the Des Moines, Iowa resident posted a gallery of images to Reddit’s DIY community, with step-by-step instructions on how he and his wife turned a $20 entertainment center from Goodwill into a professional-looking kitchen playset for their son’s 2nd birthday.

Reddit user sixstringheart

Reddit user sixstringheart

The finished product is any 2-year-old’s dream kitchen: complete with a carefully designed plexiglass “stove” and a very convincing sink (surprise: it’s a repurposed dog bowl).

However, instead of admiring the couple’s craftiness, some comments made to the father—on- and offline—zeroed in on the least important detail here: the child’s gender.

Sixstringhook shares in a follow-up to his post that he received a few remarks stating that the toy kitchen must be for his “daughter” (offensive on several levels), while others simply objected, “But he is a boy!”

In response, the father returned to the discussion thread to address the trolls head-on:

“Let me be perfectly blunt.

Fuck you. Any time [my wife and I] go to our local science center, or to the children’s museum, [our son] always wants to play in the kitchen playset area. He always wants to watch us cook and likes being involved, so we thought this would be a good idea.

Furthermore, if my kid wanted a barbie doll I would get it for him. If that is what he wants, then that is what he wants. It’s his decision what he wants to play with. Not mine.”

Although the vast majority of users seemed to agree that the arbitrary division of toys based on 1950s gender stereotypes is indeed ridiculous, bringing toy companies and distributors into the 21st century may be more difficult. (Only recently did big box stores like Target move away from gender-based labeling in their toy aisles.)

In the meantime, user sixstringhook reports that his “son has really enjoyed playing with his new kitchen.”

The parents are already hard at work on their next present: a toy work bench. But before anyone could suggest that this was a stereotypically “male” toy, the dad clarified that it has nothing to do with gender.

“[My son] IS 2,” he writes in a comment. “I have seen him get excited and play with a broom. Y’all need to chill. Kids are going to play with what they want, and if you try to prevent them from doing something as harmless as playing with the toy they want to play with, they are going to end up resenting you.”